David Bedingham has earned a maiden Test call up for South Africa
He had a fantastic domestic campaign with Durham in 2023, finishing with 1,019 runs in Division Two at an average of 56. He scored five centuries in the campaign, with a high score of 156.
He also led the team in total runs in the Metro Bank One Day Cup, scoring 413 runs and averaging 59, with the standout innings coming against Sussex in August where he broke the club record for fastest century in a One Day fixture.
The tour, also known as the Freedom Series, comprises of three KFC T20 Internationals (T20Is), three Betway One-Internationals (ODIs) and two Betway Test matches.
Province wicket-keeper Kyle Verreynne has been recalled to the ODI and Test squads. The 26-year-old last featured for the Proteas in the Test series against Australia in January and has since led Province to the One-Day Cup title and enjoyed success in this season’s four-day competition with 275 runs in three matches at an average of 68.75 and a top score of 150.
Meanwhile, Anrich Nortje (lower back stress fracture) and Wayne Parnell (left shoulder) were not considered for selection as they are still undergoing rehabilitation for their respective injuries.
Test head coach Shukri Conrad added: “It is the start of a new ICC World Test Championship cycle and that itself is a huge incentive for everyone. The playing field is level and we want to try and ensure we make a strong start to this sequence here at home against one of the best teams in the world.
“We have a near full-strength squad to pick from and that in itself is a real boost for us.
“We have also added some new and exciting faces such as David Bedingham, Nandre Burger and Tristan Stubbs, who make the Test squad for the first time. There are others that are also back in the fold after going back to their unions and returning with impressive performances.
“Overall we believe this group has all the attributes to deliver on our objective, which is to maintain our proud record against India in South Africa.”
Betway Test Series
26 December – 30 December
South Africa vs India – SuperSport Park, Centurion
03 January – 07 January
South Africa vs India – Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town
Proteas Test squad against India
Temba Bavuma (captain, DP World Lions), David Bedingham (Durham/ Western Province), Nandre Burger (Western Province), Gerald Coetzee (Momentum Multiply Titans), Tony de Zorzi (Western Province), Dean Elgar (Momentum Multiply Titans), Marco Jansen (Dafabet Warriors), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), Wiaan Mulder (DP World Lions), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Keegan Petersen (Gbets Rocks), Kagiso Rabada (DP World Lions), Tristan Stubbs (Dafabet Warriors) and Kyle Verreynne (Western Province).